Junction US 550—Ridgway—Placerville—Telluride—Lizard Head Pass—Rico—Dolores—Junction US 160 (Cortez); 109 miles, State 62, State 145. Narrow graveled road with many sharp twists and steep grades; dangerous in wet weather; winter travel inadvisable. Route paralleled by Rio Grande Southern R. R. between Ridgway and Dolores.

 Good accommodations at Telluride and Dolores; limited elsewhere.

The highway passes through a sparsely settled region of wild grandeur. On every side rise jagged peaks, snow-covered and flanked with dense forests filled with game and crisscrossed by fishing streams. In this section are many mines, once as rich as any in the State; only a few are now being operated.

State 62 branches southwest from US 550 (see Tour 18), 0 miles, 27 miles south of Montrose (5,820 alt., 3,566 pop.) (see Tour 9c). RIDGWAY, 0.3 miles (6,770 alt., 239 pop.), a scattering of frame cottages, is overshadowed by the smoke-blackened, red brick shops of the Rio Grande Southern Railroad, of which the town is the northern terminal. Good hunting and fishing in the vicinity attract many sportsmen. The town was named for A. G. Ridgway, one of General W. J. Palmer's associates in the construction of the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad.

West of Ridgway the highway crosses rolling hills toward the Uncompahgre Plateau; wide expanses of brown grassland are relieved by patches of sagebrush, silver-gray in the sunlight and purple in the shadows.

DALLAS DIVIDE, 10.2 miles, a flag station on the railroad, is situated on the crest of the UNCOMPAHGRE PLATEAU, its higher regions covered with dense pine forests interspersed with sage flats. This is a country of magnificent distances. To the left rise the forbidding La Plata Range, with many summits rising 14,000 feet or more. Throughout practically the entire year these mountains are snow-covered.

The route descends the western slope of the Uncompahgre Plateau through groves of quaking aspens. Nipped by frost, the foliage burns like fire against the somber background of the changeless pines. The aspen, seldom achieving timber size, is of value as a nurse tree, covering burns and sheltering slow-growing evergreens. According to a Ute legend, the continuous quivering of aspen leaves, even when there is no appreciable breeze, is due to the Great Spirit who once visited earth during a full moon. All living things awaited him, trembling with anticipation—all save the proud aspen, which stood still, refusing to pay homage. The deity, angered, decreed that in the future its leaves should tremble whenever eye looked upon them.

LEONARD, 19.4 miles (7,500 alt., 28 pop.), serves as a base for sportsmen. The country to the south, habitat of deer, elk, and mountain lion, is one of the big-game regions in the State. The road descends into the valley of the SAN MIGUEL RIVER (good fly fishing). With the decline of mining operations, which polluted the water, fish again abound in the crystal-clear stream.

At 23.3 miles is the junction with State 145, which the route now follows (L) southeast.

PLACERVILLE, 23.9 miles (7,523 alt., 46 pop.), was originally a mining camp. When the placer mines played out, it became a shipping center for cattle and sheep, and today is one of the principal loading points in western Colorado.

Southeast from Placerville, State 145 follows a devious course through San Miguel Canyon, its red walls formed of intricately eroded rock strata. The meandering river channel is fringed with cotton-woods and beaded with small dark pools where trout abound.

At 29.8 miles is a junction with a dirt road.

Right here is VANADIUM, 0.4 miles (7,650 alt., 2 pop.), a store and post office flanked by several buildings. The large green frame mill was formerly operated by the U. S. Vanadium Company.

East of Vanadium the valley of the San Miguel strikes through low, round, sage-covered hills, their forests long since cut away. The road crosses the northern boundary of Montezuma National Forest, 32.4 miles.

At 35.9 miles is the junction with State 108.

Left on this graveled highway is TELLURIDE, 3.5 miles (8,500 alt., 512 pop.), a mining camp lying in a cup of gray granite mountains. Living in the past perhaps more than any other Colorado town, Telluride strives to preserve its dignity and appearance. Its occupied houses are well kept, with green lawns, and such yards as have managed to squeeze themselves between the closely built dwellings are still attractive. The architecture is reminiscent of the days when local bonanza kings, no less lavish in their tastes than those of Leadville and Cripple Creek, wrested fortunes from the mountains and erected ornate houses and buildings; many of these structures have long since been abandoned.

In 1875 John Fallen staked out the Sheridan, Emerald, Ausboro, and Ajax claims here. His associate, White, staked out extensions on these claims but allowed his claims to lapse through failure to perform the $100 assessment work required by law. Later, the celebrated Smuggler was struck on one of these claims, uncovering a vein that assayed $1,200 a ton. This rich strike caused a rush to Telluride, named for the tellurous ores of the district, and soon the surrounding mountain sides were pitted with prospect holes. New veins were uncovered and the region enjoyed a wild prosperity. Transportation was facilitated in 1890 by the construction of the Rio Grande Southern Railroad. At the peak of the boom, with the Smuggler, Alta, Liberty Bell, Tomboy, Black Bear, and other mines pouring forth treasure, Telluride was one of the liveliest gold camps in Colorado. Its population exceeded 5,000; an opera house was built. Among the camp's prominent figures was George Costigan, Sr., a Virginia lawyer, who operated the Liberty Bell Mine and served as district judge. His sons, George Jr., author of numerous legal text books, and Edward P., United States Senator (1931-37), spent their early years here. Telluride's decline began in the 1890's, but many mines were worked for another decade. By 1909 the Telluride district had produced more than $60,000,000 in precious metals. Since the early 1930's a few gold mines have been reopened, and the town profits from summer tourists and trade with surrounding farms and ranches.

East of Telluride a dirt road continues to PANDORA, 2 miles, consisting of a few workers' dwellings and a flotation mill for the concentration of ores.

The SMUGGLER UNION MINE (open weekdays; visitors riding tram must waive claims to liability), high on the slope of the mountain shoulder (L) that overshadows Pandora, was reopened in 1933 after being closed for many years. The mine contains one of the longest continuous "shoots" ever opened. An electric aerial tram carries ore and supplies between the mine and the mill at Pandora, a 20-minute trip.

Right from Pandora a foot trail winds upward 0.5 miles to the foot of BRIDAL VEIL FALLS, where a thin mountain stream cascades 365 feet down the rough face of a cliff in a shower of mist and lacy foam. From this vantage point a wide expanse of southwestern Colorado rolls away toward a dim horizon. On clear days mountain tops across the border in Utah are visible.

South of the junction the highway winds upward through heavy stands of yellow pine and Engelmann spruce into the SAN MIGUEL MOUNTAINS, a low spur (L) of La Platas. Beautiful at any season, the San Miguels are at their best when blanketed with midwinter snows. Along the route are dumps of many mines, few of them operating. Here and there an abandoned shaft house, its timbers rotting and roof near collapse, pushes its head through the forest fast reclaiming the land.

OPHIR STATION, 44.1 miles, is a stop on the railroad.

Left from Ophir Station on a dirt road is OPHIR, 2 miles (9,326 alt., 100 pop.), a weather-beaten almost-deserted hamlet. Those who remain are chiefly prospectors who insist the gold veins are not lost, merely "pinched out."

North of Ophir are the OPHIR NEEDLES (12,100 alt.), masses of gray granite peaks almost triangular in shape.

The road continues its winding course through foothills; below the highway, half way down the mountain, is the OPHIR LOOP, remarkable engineering feat in the construction of the Rio Grande Southern Railroad. In order to route the railroad past Ophir Station and eliminate excessive grades, the tracks were laid in the shape of a great horseshoe, a section of which is supported on high wooden trestles. In their course the rails almost overlap themselves.

SAN BERNARDO MOUNTAIN (11,845 alt.), 45.8 miles, a sheer point of granite rises (R) far above the timberline; it is sometimes called the Matterhorn for its resemblance to the famous Swiss peak.

TROUT LAKE, 47 miles (9,750 alt.), is a magnificent expanse of azure nestling in a valley between heavily forested hills, a favorite camping spot for fishermen. Small supplies can be obtained from neighboring ranchers, and boats are available.

LIZARD HEAD PASS, 49.1 miles, on the crest of the San Miguel Mountains, lies between (R) BLACK FACE MOUNTAIN (12,100 alt.) and (L) SHEEP MOUNTAIN (13,200 alt.). At the top of the pass the railroad is covered for almost a quarter of a mile by a frame shed, built to keep snow from blocking the tracks. Snowfall in southwestern Colorado is exceptionally heavy, and in addition to snow-sheds, constant use of plows is necessary to maintain train schedules.

The highway descends the slopes of the San Miguels, along which stark peaks reach at the sky in a long procession. The few habitations here are lone ranch houses. Occasionally a cowboy, who might be from the pages of a Zane Grey novel, is met; less often an old prospector, weather-beaten as the towns, plods along a dim trail in his perpetual search of El Dorado. The hills of western Colorado are peopled with men whose dreams are of the untouched treasure stores that will— some day—produce a stream of gold for them.

RICO (Sp. rich), 62.1 miles (8,900 alt., 477 pop.); a string of false-front frame buildings along a rutted street, is one of the last outposts of the Old West. As late as the 1920's horse thieves were active in the region and often were pursued by posses in automobiles and on motorcycles.

The earliest explorations in the region were made by the Spanish, who made no discovery of treasure. Padre Escalante, who made a brave attempt to find a route between the Santa Fe and California missions, left a record of his visit and was responsible for naming many peaks and rivers in Colorado. Trappers penetrated this region from the east in 1832-33, and one party wintered in the Rio Dolores valley to take beaver and other fur-bearing animals along the banks of the stream. The first gold discoveries were made in 1866, when Sheldon Shafer and Joe Fearheiler, prospectors bound for Montana, made valuable finds near the present town of Rico. Other gold seekers were driven away by Indians and the settlement was abandoned. Working of the mines began in 1878 when the Ute signed a treaty surrendering their claims. While some gold and silver are still mined, lead, zinc, and copper are of equal importance. Rico's peak population of 6,000 dwindled to 300 in 1920. Since 1928 the introduction of scientific mining methods has increased population and the output of metals.

South of Rico the route follows an old Ute trail along the banks of the Dolores River flanked by low hills heavily wooded with aspen. Here is unfenced grazing country, and care should be exercised in driving, for sheep frequently block the highway.

STONER, 82.8 miles, a post office and flag station, has a COTTAGE CAMP (R) and a RANGER STATION (L), occupied only during summer. South of Stoner the road traverses a broad fertile valley carpeted with fields of alfalfa. The channel of the Dolores River is screened by a wall of cottonwoods.

DOLORES, 99 miles (6,957 alt., 557 pop.), in the heart of a rich grazing district, periodically lives and dies with the cattle industry; the main street is flanked with parkways.

At 109 miles is the junction with US 160 (see Tour 11c), 2 miles east of CORTEZ (6,198 alt., 921 pop.) (see Tour 11c).